The layout is bold and clean, with crisp color photographs showing emergency workers in action scattered throughout. The glossaries have thorough definitions for terms specific to each volume’s subject and the indexes will help readers find facts quickly. The books could be used with younger readers as read alouds in career units or with older students doing independent research.

This entry in the Emergency Workers series gives readers a peek into the usually hidden world of hazmat technicians. Even adults might find themselves learning from this book about the nine types of hazmats, why they are hazardous, and how technicians work with them. Ollhoff outlines the training, processes, and operations of these emergency professionals, illustrating the explanations with plenty of examples. He even includes an interview with an actual firefighter and hazmat technician. . . .There is plenty of appropriate material here paired with large, colorful photos of people in hazmat gear and within high-tech control rooms. A glossary meanwhile helps with such words as decontaminate and Geiger counter.